


Notes on an Inquisitor.

by violetkareninas



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Mixed Media, Modern Era, Multi, Multi-Era, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-23 03:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3753316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetkareninas/pseuds/violetkareninas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen Rutherford is new to the bustling town of Skyhold, and Eliae Lavellan runs a popular blog under the pen-name "The Inquisitor", set to critique this newly appointed Police Commander in his new job. Through the daily trials and machinations of their friends and co-workers, will the two ever meet, and more importantly, see eye to eye over the events and running of the town they're both so fond of?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

_"Less than two weeks after his new appointment to the city of Skyhold, Commander Cullen Rutherford, previously the Captain of the Kirkwall Police division, struggled to live up to the forceful yet questionable reputation that preceded him. A source close to the animal protest rioters in question had this to say about the rather unstable Commander at the town of Haven..."_

The laptop lid shut with an audible snap, as said Commander of the Skyhold police force leant back in his chair, shut his eyes and sighed. This was not good, not good at all. Two weeks he'd been in this town and already his "questionable reputation", as the article had so kindly put it, preceded him.

"First Kirkwall, and now this..." He muttered darkly under his breath, running a hand somewhat exasperatedly through his slicked back mane of dark blonde hair. He waited a moment, trying to collect his thoughts that were rapidly clouding his ability to think rationally. The blog had been linked to him by Cassandra Penterghast, a contact and current colleague of his that had helped him secure this new job at the precinct. Why she had sent it to him, however, was another matter entirely and one he wasn't quite sure had needed to be done. After all, what else would he have gained reading this aside from a mild headache and growing desire to hit something? Pursing his lips in a thin line, he opened his eyes and leant forward, lifting the laptop lid back up again until the luminous screen lit up. The article glared back at him. He frowned.

"Cassandra!" he called, eyes flicking up now past the screen and toward the door that remained half propped open, leading out onto the floor where the rest of his team was sat working. Immediately, there was a scraping back of a chair and a patter of heavy booted footsteps sounded until the woman in question was at his door, a look of concern crossing her face whilst her arms remained crossed.

"Commander?"

Cullen sighed. "Take a look at what you just sent me, please? Do you really think I'm an..." He spun the laptop around to face her, as she walked forward, bending down to get a better look at the screen. "...'unstable' person? Maker's breath, I've only been here two weeks and yet I've already got some blog commenting about how I run things."

Had he looked up at that moment, he would have seen how the edges of Cassandra's lips twitched as she re-read the whole of the article, before she flicked her eyes up to look directly at him. "She seems a little brash, uh, ...misguided, perhaps." 

"Misguided?!" The Commander spluttered now, slapping his right palm on the table whilst gesticulating wildly to the side with his left. "She's insinuating I'm unstable. I think that's more than a little 'misguided', don't you?"

"I'm sure it's nothing to do with -" But before she got the words out, she seemed to stop herself, biting down on her lower lip before continuing. "What I mean, is that the writer is...uh, sometimes her writing is somewhat biased, of course. But from what I've gathered and what Leliana's told me, this is a blog that's incredibly popular with the towns people here, especially the Dalish if the political slant is anything to go by. If you want to make an impression here Commander, you read this."

"The blog is called Mien'harel, Captain. Now, while my Elvhen might be somewhat rusty, I don't think that's a word for anything particularly nice."

"It means "rebellion" in their language - or at least, something like it."

Cullen sat back a little in his seat, the frame making creaking noises as he did so. "Brilliant, just what I needed. Not after Kirkwall. If it wasn't for Hawke and his friends that mess would have been..."

"This won't be like Anders, Cullen." Gone now was the formal tone to Cassandra's voice, instead replaced by something a little more sympathetic - or, at least, as close to sympathetic as she would allow herself to sound. He looked up at her.

"Of course, I wasn't..."

Unfolding her arms, she placed a hand on the desk and leaned slightly toward him. "Look, I wouldn't be working for you if I didn't think you could do the job. And besides, if you want to find out more about this blog, make enquiries. While she's anonymous, we're pretty sure she's a she and a Dalish at that."

He nodded. "Let's just hope the second time is the charm, hmm?"

-:-

" _A source close to the animal protest rioters in question had this to say about the rather unstable Commander at the town of Haven..."_

A light and airy laugh sounded through the coffee shop, causing several customers to look up at the pale, dark haired and alarmingly tattooed barista currently trying to contain her laughter behind the till, her lithe body shaking ever so with the effort.

"Oh, Eliae this...this is brilliant. Am I really a source for your blog? An actual, proper source? You should have taken more than that quote off me. I would have been so-" Eliae Lavellan grinned impishly over her cup of tea, the china white mug clasped between both hands as she smiled at her friend.

"Merrill, really! It was nothing. I knew you'd be at the riots, I asked a few questions and decided to use you as a source. Besides, if you getting locked overnight in the cell wasn't going to cause a stir, then I don't know what else was."

"But oh really, Elli, you shouldn't have. Besides, I met the Commander briefly once before and he's actually quite..."

Eliae raised an eyebrow in question, before lifting a hand away from her mug to hush her rambling friend. "...nice? Merrill, I don't trust new law enforcement as far as I can throw them. Besides, they shoved you in a cell overnight - how nice can they be, really? You wouldn't hurt a fly! If you ask me, this new Commander seems a bit, well..."

"Like he's got a stick up his, well, you know..." Merrill helpfully finished for her, with a small smile and shrug. 

Now it was Eliae's turn to laugh until she was snorting into her tea so that the hot liquid sloshed over the sides of the cup and onto her hands. "Oh! Ah! Fuck, shhhh Merrill, yes that works too. Just, until I meet him, I'm quite happy commenting on whatever happens in the town however I see fit. Blogs don't write themselves, you know?"

"I'm sure Varric could help you out on that front. He seemed keen enough to help you set up the blog and publicise it. Why don't you ask him to make a few enquiries? He is influential and everything what with his company..." followed Merrill, now starting to clean around the work surface, her eyes flitting constantly between Eliae, the counter top and the door to anticipate any new customers.

"Tethras Ltd?" Eliae commentated, a little bemused at her friends suggestion.  "I'm sure he's got all the influence but, call me old fashioned Merrill, I prefer to concoct publicity on my own for now. If I need Varric's help, I'll call him. Besides, my identity is meant to be on the down low, hmmm? We can't have any old Shemlem finding this out."

Merrill sighed and nodded solemly, brown eyes wide with understanding as she continued to clean up around the workspace. "I suppose you're right. Besides-"

Suddenly, a beep alerted Eliae to her phone where she'd allowed Merrill to read the blog post from. Smiling somewhat apologetically, she placed her mug down and picked up her phone from the counter-top and flicked the unlock button to read her new text. Ah, speak of the devil - or in this case, wealthy business owner, if it wasn't the man himself. She smirked a little, almost anticipating what she was about to read.

"...Speaking of which."

_Read your new blog post, Inquisitor. Got to say, it packs a bigger bite to Blondie's ego_

_than a Mabari Hound could offer - and that's saying something._

_Say hi to Daisy from me, and keep up the good work! V._

 

Eliae smiled at the text. "Varric says hi, by the way."

Merrill looked up quickly and grinned. "Oh, say hi back to him for me! Oh I do miss him sometimes. ...Speaking of which, Carver should be here any day now. Did I tell you?"

Eliae forced another smile and a nod this time. Carver Hawke, Merrill's long term boyfriend was soon to be home from his term in the Kokari Wilds as part of the 'Wardens' - an affectionate name for the band that had been created in the Ferelden army since he'd been enlisted almost three years ago. "He's home soon, right?"

"Yes! And I was thinking of making him a cake you know? Oh, nothing fancy just-"

 _"Uh, miss? Can I get another coffee over here?_ " The alien, and rather unwanted, voice slid through their conversation quicker than a hot knife through butter, causing both women to look up and Merrill to get flustered.

"Oh, of course. I'll be right over!"

At this, Eliae took it as her cue to leave. Tucking her phone in her back pocket, she walked slowly away from the countertop and turned to head toward the door, calling over to Merrill as she did so who had dashed over the other side of the room with a coffee jug. "I'll catch you later, okay? Send me a text when you're off shift. I was thinking of inviting Dorian and Krem over for pizza, if you fancy it?"

"Sure! Oh _fenedhis_..." The response of Merrill was quickly cut off with the tinkling of glass the flower arrangement on the table tumbled to the floor with a crash. Eliae forced herself not to roll her eyes, before slipping out of the door, the tinkle of the bell sounding her way out of the shop and onto the pavement outside.

-:-


	2. Something in the water.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliae decides to visit Dorian and gets herself caught up in a situation that can only end one way.

A week after the posting of the article on her blog, with thousands of hits and hundreds of comments, Eliae Lavellan now found herself on Skyhold's University Campus. Whilst neither a student nor a graduate from that particular academic institution, she had a particular fondness for these set of buildings. Of course, having one Professor Dorian Pavus as a friend here rather helped matters: at least, it helped her inquisitive mind in the pursuit of any on campus gossip and going-ons she might get her hands on to write about. Dorian, it seemed, always got to know the ins and outs of campus life before any of the rumours started to spread. It was almost as though he had some sort of magical talent for picking up hints and spinning a story before it happened, for which she found herself eternally grateful.

It just so happened however, on this particular afternoon whilst walking around Campus to meet Dorian after a lecture of his, that she was to find herself right in the middle of a story that needed to be written.

  
-:-

  
"...Finally, may I remind all students who are thinking of cheating on their next test not to do so. I may not seem like it but I am more than just a handsome face, so I will know if you've quoted the answers to several chemical formulae straight off the back of your hand from your textbooks. Does everyone understand? Good. ...Class dismissed."  
As small gaggles of students passed through the hallway and out the door upon the end of the lecture, Eliae watched as Dorian Pavus stopped to shuffle up his notes, absent mindedly checking his phone as he did so. She knew that her text would be sitting on his notification screen, waiting for him to be answer it.

  
"You know, you can enter the lecture theatre Inquisitor. It's not expressly forbidden."

  
Biting back a grin, she walked swiftly over toward her friend with her hands in her jean pockets. She'd seen Dorian recently what with the pizza night around a week ago, but even so she found she had missed him all the same.

  
"I was waiting for you to say that. How was it?"

  
Dorian sighed and rolled his eyes, his mustache lifting a little as he smirked. "The lecture? Oh you know, the usual. Although if I have to tell my students the rules of thermodynamics again, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself. It almost makes me miss Tevinter...almost."

  
She watched him tuck the phone away into his back pocket, before turning to walk with him out of the room and toward the rest of campus. 

"That bad?" He nodded as she continued on."So, I've been thinking..."

"Now why do you suddenly sound like Varric?" Dorian countered, the skin around his eyes crinkled in silent mirth before earning a quick, yet playful slap to the arm. The cold winds greeted them like an old friend, and instinctively, they drew their coats around them tighter as they walked toward the main square.

  
"This is serious Dorian! Anyway, as I said, I've been thinking and, well,doing some investigative work concerning this new Police Commander of ours. What do you know of him? What does he look like, how does he work? Surely you've heard stuff on campus?"

  
Dorian chuckled and shook his head. "Can't say I've heard much about him. Well, only that he looks a lot older than his actual age but then again I suppose you knew that already."

  
Eliae nodded silently, her mind preoccupied with fastening the buttons on her coat as they walked. It had only occurred to her very recently that she actually didn't know what their new Commander looked like. Not that she supposed it mattered much, as it wasn't like she needed a visual of the person she was writing on. She knew more about his career path than anything else: majored at University over in the Free Marches, until he joined the Peace Corp for a brief stint only to up and leave toward Kirkwall and now...well, here he was. Other than that, what else was there? A rumoured shady past concerning alcohol following the shoot-out in the city when his own superior officer Meredith Casterly went mad. Stories and whispers, that was all he amounted to.

  
Honestly, it was like he was trying to make the work difficult for her.

  
Sure, she knew his name and the brief descriptions that Merrill had passed along from what she'd seen through the bars of the police cell, but that wasn't exactly much. He was blonde, tall and...that was about it. She frowned. It wasn't much to go on, and various internet searches to find a decent picture of him hadn't been much help either. It seemed, that like her, he'd wanted to fly under the radar. Not that she blamed him for that, if after what happened at Kirkwall and the rumours surrounding the fallout were anything to go by.

  
It was on this thought however as she opened her mouth to speak, that they rounded the corner only for the flashing lights of two police cars and an ambulance by the main square to appear and greet them. She gasped. "What in the f-"

  
-:-

  
Cassandra Pentaghast was having a really bad day.

  
Not only was it cold, but this had been the second time in at least a week that a case of this new drug named Rift that had been plaguing the town had reared its ugly head. She sighed. "Can you give me an update on what's happening please, Lace? I want this wrapped up quickly."

  
Lace "Scout" Harding, a small, freckled police officer nodded quickly before rattling off information at lightning quick speed, neither woman noticing as the figures of Dorian Pavus and Eliae Lavellan drew nearer and nearer. "Of course, Captain. Word among the officers first one the scene and the emergency call is that another student was found catatonic in the bathroom of one of the buildings on campus, while a few others were, uh, not in great shape either. The paramedics are dealing with them now. Also, the Commander phoned a few minutes ago. He wants a meeting with you when you get back as soon as possible. He's asked Leliana along too and someone called Lady Montilyet?"

  
Cassandra raised a hand. "Thank you, I'll deal with Cullen when I get back. Now-" It was only then, however, that she finally noticed the two civilians that had stopped by the police cars, neither of whom she recognised. She pursed her lips into a thin line. Great, more problems.

  
-:-

  
As they walked closer to the activity, Eliae looked around. Whatever had happened in the last half-hour since she'd made her way onto campus seemed bad. 'But all the better to write a story on eh?" If there was a time to have a bad moment for her brain to wake up and thinking about writing it was probably now. ...Was it bad that she was already itching to write about this? She tried to rationalise that single thought in her head; someone had to report whatever had happened here truthfully, right? Right.

  
Looking back to what was happening in front of her, she noticed a tall, well-built woman with a black pixie cut walk a little way toward them, her arms folded and uniform dark against the grey, cloudy sky. She cut an altogether intimidating figure, one which Eliae couldn't help but peer admiringly at.

  
"I'm sorry, but this is a soon to be sealed area. Who are you?"

The accented voice, she couldn't place exactly where - Antiva perhaps? - cut through her brief reverie and she jumped ever so slightly. Opening her mouth to respond, Eliae was almost annoyed when Dorian jumped the gun to speak over her. ...Almost.

  
"We are lecturers at the University, Officer." A lie for one of them of course, such a lie that Eliae was certain that this woman would be able to smell the stench of falsehood that dripped off Dorian's words like honey. She cringed internally while he continued to speak. "Can I ask what has happened here?"

  
She noticed that the woman shifted a little uncomfortably before answering.

  
"An issue which you'll know about soon enough. For now I'd advise clearing out the rest of the University and going home. There's been another drug incident, but this time it's ended up on the Campus."

  
Eliae heard as Dorian clicked his tongue behind his teeth impatiently, before answering.

  
"Oh, I hope it's none of my students." At this, she gave him a pointed look before he hastily corrected himself, "Uh, I mean nothing too serious - very well, we will go Officer-?"  
The question hung heavy and cumbersome in the air, a little too long for Eliae's liking but apparently still longer enough that it could be answered. The woman nodded.

  
"Captain Cassandra Pentaghast. I'm part of Commander Cullen's squadron in the city."

  
Dorian smiled and Eliae quickly did the same, her brain whirring into action. Cullen? Oh, but of course this was perfect!

  
"Cullen Rutherford?"The name of her most recent target slipped out of her mouth with alarming keenness before she could stop herself, and now the gaze of the Officer was directed sharply towards her. She balked a little before continuing on, feigning piqued ignorance as she spoke, her heart now hammering inside her chest. "Uh, only, I've heard a little about him. I read a blog, written by The Inq-?"

  
Cassandra scoffed. "Of course I know that blog. It's is popular and one I'm familiar with, but the Commander was not exactly pleased with the most recent post written on him." She paused, her eyes now boring into Eliae's with apparent, sudden interest.

"Do you know who writes it?

At this moment however, it was Dorian's impeccable sense of timing that swung into action as he grabbed Eliae pointedly by the left wrist. "Now, Captain, if we knew that there would be no fun in reading the blog at all would there? I find it adds to the sense of mystery, wouldn't you say?"

  
It was all she could do to stop herself crying out in fervent agreement and mild shock. Instead, she settled for a brief grimace and another nod at her friend. Luckily Cassandra for whatever reason seemed to agree. "Hmmm. Apparently so - now, if you'll excuse me I've got work to do and a mess to clean up. This rift won't heal itself."

  
With that, Eliae watched somewhat gormless as she strode away, lifting her phone back out of her coat pocket to ring someone. To her right, Dorian laughed.  
"My my, would you look at that then. It seems like a certain someone isn't too pleased with you. Now, what do you say we leave this place before she calls us out? The mood is turning darker than the sky is and I'd hate to be in people's way."

  
Eliae grinned.

"Sure. I'll catch you up. I just want to have a look around first."

-:-  
It was late in the evening, yet Cullen Rutherford had found himself with, much to his annoyance, more paperwork and an even greater headache. He'd have been lying to himself if he'd had imagined that this transfer over to Skyhold was easy, but with increasing pressures mounting for him to crack down on this growing problem that was this new 'rift' drug - especially from the sprawling metropolis that was Orlais - almost made him wish he hadn't come here.

  
Curving his right hand around the handle of his coffee mug, he lifted it to his mouth and took a sip before spitting it back out and placing the mug down again with a barely concealed grimace. It was stone cold.

  
"Ugh, Maker-"

  
Whatever he was going to say, however, was promptly cut off by the sharp ringing noise made by his phone. In one fluid motion, he answered it, not checking to see who was on the other line first.

  
"Commander Rutherford speaking."

  
A lightly accented Orlesian voice spoke back to him. Noise bubbled away in the background of the call - wherever she was, it was busy. Unlike here, he couldn't help but think with a dejected sigh, and the speaker continued on.

  
"- Cullen, I know it's you. We've got caller ID now remember?"

  
He sighed into the receiver and chuckled lightly despite himself. "Ah, yes. Leliana, what can I do for you?"

  
Now that he was one of three that ran this police department since he'd enlisted the help of Leliana and Lady Josephine to solve this mounting drug case, these late night calls were becoming more and more frequent.

  
"Actually it's what I can do for you. I was going to leave it until tomorrow but...well, you might want to check The Inquisitor's blog again. There's something of interest that I think you might want to see."

  
"What does it say?" Brow furrowed with concern, Cullen dutifully opened a new tab on his web browser and typed in the address with one hand, the other still holding the phone to his ear.

  
"Just read it, but I think we might have to find whoever she is and bring her in."

  
In a mere matter of seconds, the blog post was one his screen and he read it, his mouth moving over the words as though murmuring a silent prayer. The time stamp on it said it had only been posted thirty minutes ago.

  
"Andraste's teeth, Leliana."

  
"Read it, Cullen."

  
_...University Campus was struck a major blow today with the intrusion of new drug - street named 'Rift' - which caused the death of two students and serious harm to seven others after it tainted the water supply in the Arts and Humanities building on the north side of Campus. There was no confirmation from the Dean of the University as to how this happened, but the drug, usually powdered down and lime green in colour, is said to contain disastrous hallucinogenic properties and addiction akin to that of red lyrium -"_

  
Cullen tried to keep his breathing steady.

  
_"but until there are more incidences then the drug cannot be properly analysed. A statement was not received from Skyhold's police department as of yet, but I can assure you that I, and many others in this town, will not rest until answers can be brought to light over this tragedy."_

  
Shit.

  
There was a pause on the end of the line as Cullen sharply drew breath, the sound similiar to a hissing kettle spitting steam.

  
"Does this mean what I think it does? Leliana, surely, this Inquisitor doesn't have the drug - I mean, the key to finding this thing? Does she? How else would she know it was a powdered green substance if it was in the water supply?"

  
A small 'hmm' was his only response.

  
"Find her. Get Cassandra, find her and bring her in. This situation just got a whole lot bigger that we bargained for."

  
-:-

_Sent: 12:06am_

_Mer, it's me. Is there any possibility I can stay over tonight?_  
_Something's happened. Plus, the traffic on my blog just got_  
_crazy and usually I'd be pleased but, well -_  
_Get back ASAP 'kay?_  
_E. x_

  
-:-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping this will increase the tension/goings-on in this fic - and I promise that Cullen and Lavellan will meet soon. As to exactly when, that is...well, you'll just have to find out! :) I have a fair few exciting things planned!!!

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first attempt at a Dragon Age fic, after discussion with my friend got wildly out of hand! I've read too many fics and written too little, so I hope this is a decent attempt at what will try to be a slow-burn, modern AU of my favourite Commander and my Inquisitor! 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the opening, and rather short, chapter! The next one promises more familiar faces and intriguing goings on...
> 
> Elvhen words:  
> "fenedhis" is essentially a curse word, so make of that what you will!


End file.
